Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies for absence.

There were no declarations of interest.

It was confirmed that all matters would be considered in part 1.

RESOLVED:

That subject to a typographical correction in minute item 44, the minutes be agreed as an accurate reflection of the meeting.

Councillor Allen asked whether the Footpaths and Bridleways budget to which Paul Richards had referred (minute item 43, paragraph 3) was the budget spent to date, or the annual budget. The clerk agreed to ask Mr Richards for clarification.

Councillor Allen asked whether any progress had been made on taking the Street Champions report to Cabinet. The Chair explained that it was taking some time for the issue regarding data to be resolved, and so the report remained on hold.

Members discussed the report. They felt that Hillingdon Equestrian Advisory Committee ought to be given more support to hold meetings.

RESOLVED:

That subject to the addition of 'and that officers will provide meeting rooms to HEAC as and when they consider it to be appropriate.' to the end of recommendation 4, the report be agreed, and recommended to Cabinet.

Colin Russell explained that low level fly tipping had increased, whilst the number of large scale incidents had declined. He explained that catching fly tippers had become more difficult as when officers searched for evidence of the origin of rubbish, they often found that the refuse did not contain any personal information. Mr Russell clarified that the figure of 4,500 fly-tips quoted in the report only related to reported fly tips on highways land. There were many more single item or small fly tips which were not reported, or which were on private property.

In response to questions from Councillors, it was clarified that the Borough was not responsible for collecting fly-tipped waste from private land, but would occasionally do so where it was causing a major obstruction or serious harm. There was a charge for larger cases of this type. Ed Shaylor explained that there was a large amount of legislation relating to the responsibility for clearing fly-tips, and that residents were often unhappy when they found that they were responsible for clearing private alleyways and the like. Officers felt however that it would not be prudent to clear waste tipped on private land too frequently, as it might encourage more tipping. Presently residents were guided through how to deal with any such incidents themselves.

Councillors asked how the £250,000 cost had been calculated. Officers explained that this cost was mostly the cost of disposing of waste, at £116 per ton. There were also two vans and crews dedicated to cleaning fly tips, and the costs of this was included in the figure.

Councillors noted the problems that frequently changing tenants could cause. Officers agreed that there was a large amount of waste associated with tenancy changes. A particular problem was mattresses, 10-15 of which were collected from across the borough every day.

Members discussed possible ways of improving the service, including:

-       Using household waste collection crews to report fly tips, although they noted the practical difficulties of doing this;

-        Adding publicity regarding the Borough's Household Special Collection Service to literature regarding fly tipping, as appropriate;

-       Installing notices at garden centres regarding the recycling of plastic flowerpots.

Councillor Allen thanked Colin Russell and the Anti-Social Behaviour Investigation Team for the work they had done in Townfield Ward, which had significantly reduced the impact of fly-tipping and had made residents feel more responsible for their neighbourhood.

The Chairman said that he felt that it would be prudent to review the operation of the Roadside Memorials Policy after a year of operation. He was concerned however that there was no requirement that officers contact families soon after the erection of any memorial to inform them of the restrictions of the policy.

Members were disappointed that they had not reviewed the policy prior to its approval by the Cabinet member. They were also concerned that a draft of a letter and the Funeral Procedures Booklet had not been provided to them. Ed Shaylor explained that grieving families were generally contacted in person, and as such no standard letter had been drafted. The Funeral Procedures Booklet was being re-drafted, and as such had not been provided. The section of the brochure regarding roadside memorials had however been included in the report to the committee. The Chairman asked that the booklet be passed to the committee for comment, before it was printed. Members felt that it was important that residents were made aware of the policy, and asked that the text to be included in the Funeral Procedures booklet directly reference the 13 month limit on roadside memorials.

The report was noted.

Members are asked to suggest any topics they may wish to see reviewed in the 2015-16 Municipal Year. Any topics will only be taken forward with the agreement of the committee's membership following the Annual Meeting of Council on 14 May 2015.

Councillors suggested the following issues as possible future review topics:

-       Legal Highs

-       Street Cleaning

Members also asked, with reference to a previous suggestion, that a briefing paper on the misuse and mistreatment of War Memorials be brought to the next meeting.